"Wow this is amazing haha. There's actually a kitchen sink on top???"

"You got it spot on. Custom PC builds and the ecosystem of computer components that supports them will always have a crucial position in the market; infinite options and best bang for your buck. Plus, it’s fun too. The subtle yet important distinction between a custom PC and the modular Mac Pro is design scope. In both cases, the design objective is to create a product that meets the specific workflow needs of the user. However, the product designer is different in each.For the new Mac Pro, Apple is definitely the one designing. The benefit of their walled garden is its constraints lead to a consistent and thoroughly tested user experience. The modular design is their way of delivering workflow customization without forfeiting the ‘works out of the box’ experience. The downside is that it takes more engineering and QA teams to deliver that, so it’s reflected in the price... along with the Apple brand premium.For a PC build, the end user becomes the product designer and has a wealth of quality components to create a dream machine. Some of the builds on /r/battlestations are amazing and for sure cost less than a Mac with matching specs. But the downside is that the system integration and quality assurance falls on the end user. I bet most readers here (including me) wouldn’t mind that extra design responsibility, albeit time and knowledge permitting.Apple spent 30+ years moving further away from bespoke hardware (ie. Apple I handbuilt by Woz) towards products made with the, as you called it, “we know best” mentality. What’s significant about this week’s announcement is that Apple finally reached the boundary. The old Mac Pro was not flexible and it failed. Now the pendulum is swinging back. At the same time, companies like Microsoft and Google are shifting their product design scope by designing their own Surface and Pixel hardware instead of leaving it to 3rd parties. We’re seeing these workflow-centric products at that convergence point, which will be a positive trend for all computer users. Do you think this will be the future?"